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10 Feb 2009

Irish Green Party challenges climate denier Sammy Wilson

Northern Ireland: minister bans climate change advertsBy Chris Green

An advertising campaign urging people to help tackle climate change has been banned by Northern Ireland's Environment minister because he does not believe humans are the main cause of global warming.

Sammy Wilson said the ads suggested that turning off a television rather than putting it on standby could help save the planet, a notion he described as "patent nonsense".

The East Antrim MP said he was in favour of encouraging people in Northern Ireland to save energy, but added that the link between carbon emissions and global warming was a matter of political debate.

The Green Party and the campaign group Friends of the Earth demanded his resignation, but Mr Wilson said he had a right to hold his own opinion on the issue. The DUP representative added last night: "Why should I resign? I fulfil all my ministerial obligations in all areas of my department, and the idea that I should resign just because I hold a different view from other people on what is a very controversial topic is nonsense. And it just shows the intolerance of these people if they think I should resign because I have a different opinion."

Brian Wilson, a Green Party assembly member, said the minister was being "grossly irresponsible", adding: "While the minister is entitled to his own views, he is not entitled to ignore the overwhelming scientific evidence that man-made climate change exists."